Hide and seek among Brittany’s megaliths

6,000 menhirs and over 1,000 dolmens... Brittany is home to the great stones of the Neolithic era. One of the best places to muse on their mysteries is Carnac’s Maison des Megaliths, which reopened in the spring. Interactive visits and prehistoric workshops are also available elsewhere in the region. Fancy taking a sip of magic potion?

In Morbihan, southern Brittany, Carnac boasts the largest collection of menhirs in Europe and even the world. The tallest is truly gigantic, reaching a height of four metres! A total of 2,800 stones defied time when they were erected 5,000 years ago. Today you can wander through this army of granite, following the Sentier des Megaliths, and learn about the ongoing research and hypotheses on their meanings at the Maison of the same name.

Reopened in spring 2018 after an 18-month refurbishment, Carnac’s Maison des Megaliths is equipped with the latest technologies to create an immersive visitor experience, and accessible to all audiences including those with visual or aural impairments. With interactive panels, tactile elements, multi-language videos (French, English, German and Spanish), a new projection and conference room, exhibitions and even a panoramic terrace with orientation table – you’ll be a connoisseur by the time you leave.

Move menhirs? If you think only giants could do that, think again. With the engaging, educational workshops at the Maison des Megaliths – and on site at Saint-Just in the Pays de Redon, and Monteneuf on the edge of the Brocéliande forest – you’ll learn how the stones (often weighing several tons) were lifted and transported, without so much as a single drop of magic potion.

In the large Champ du Ménec, where you can wander in summer as the sun sets, menhirs and dolmens play the actors in a glittering sound and light show called Skedanoz (“night of sparks” in Breton). Images projected onto the stones reinvent the past and tell the beautiful legends of Brittany – it’s a magical transportation back in time!

Just a few kilometres apart are the Alignements de Carnac and the Museum of Prehistory, the Cairn Gavrinis (on an island in the Gulf of Morbihan), the megalithic site at Locmariaquer, and the Cairn of Petit Mont in Arzon. All these are linked for visitors with a special Pass des Mégalithes.

Elsewhere in Brittany, don’t miss the site of the Landes de Cojoux, La Roche aux Fees near Rennes, and the Grand Cairn of Barnerez, which is older than the Egyptian pyramids. Our favourite is the Menhirs of Monteneuf, discovered in 1989 near Brocéliande, an informative site with an interpretation trail (with the bonus of QR codes) and prehistoric workshops.